Anishma Anilkumar – Malayalam film actress of ‘I Am Kathalan’ fame

Anishma Anilkumar is an upcoming actress associated with Malayalam cinema. She marked her screen debut in a supporting role in 2023 film, Poovan. Her lead role as Shilpa Periyadan, Naslen’s girlfriend in 2024 techno crime thriller, ‘I Am Kathalan’ got noticed.

Anishma Anilkumar’s parents are working in government sector

She was born to Anil Kumar and Suma Devi in Veeranakavu, Thiruvananthapuram. Both are government servants. For the same reason she believed that she will also follow their footsteps, write PSC exams and achieve some government job. But she completed civil engineering, even got job, but decided to concentrate on to films.

She belongs to a family of movie buffs, who regularly watch films in theatre. So, since young she wished to join film stream, though she never shared her desire with anyone. She used to say to herself, I want to become an artist.

She attended audition for the first time post-covid time

Though she doesn’t have any film connections, she started sending her profile to casting calls during covid time. She was called for the audition for the movie, Poovan. When she presented this to family, neither her parents nor her grandparents agreed to it. Her audition was in Kochi. Yet finally she convinced her parents, and they took her for auditions in Kochi.

She didn’t get through in the first audition. However she got selected in the second audition. That time she got a job. But she chose ‘Poovan’ over job. She played a supporting role in the movie directed by Vineeth Vasudevan. She played a simpleton girl Sini in the film. The movie was a flop and her role went unnoticed.

‘I Am Kathalan’ gave her career breakthrough

Though she played a simple girl in her debut flick, she played an independent girl in her second movie, I Am Kathalan. She played Naslen’s girlfriend in the film. Both the film and her role received rave reviews, though it failed at box office. The movie was directed by Girish A. D. of Premalu fame. In fact, I Am Kathalan was shot first, though Premalu got released earlier. Her role was appreciated by her family and relatives. Her upcoming film is ‘Marana Maas’, where she shares screen space with Basil Joseph. She is still attending auditions and willing to take projects irrespective of language barriers.

Anishma Anilkumar – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. Anishma’s grandparents visited theatre after 47 years to watch her on big screen.

2. She got her first two films through auditions. She unsuccessfully attempted some auditions too.

3. The schools in which she studied gave a lot of importance to art and performances. If teachers notice underperforming students, they used to encourage them and ask them to come forward.